On Nov. 19, about 40 companies from 19 European countries met in Tehran to
examine the capacity of cooperation with Iran. According to Phil Hogan, the
EU Commissioner for Agricultural and Rural Development, it was a historic
day between the European Union and Iran in the agricultural field. He said
European and Iranian companies have initiated negotiations to expand trade
between the two sides. These companies are active in sectors such as dairy
products, meat, vegetables, chocolate, vegetable seeds for animal feed and
other food products, and can provide good cooperation opportunities for
joint activities. The meeting resulted in the signing of two memoranda of
understanding between Iran and the European Union. One was on the production
of seeds between Iranian and French companies and another between the
European Union and the Federation of Food Industries, which are some of the
first practical steps in the field of agriculture and food.

Hogan stressed that the opening of the European Union office in Iran is a
political issue and is being followed up. The person in charge is Ms.
Federica Mogherini. At the same time, however, Hogan insisted that the EU is
fully committed to the Iran Nuclear Deal (known as the Joint Comprehensive
Plan of Action), and is moving in that framework and will not let it be
violated even some opposed it.

The 94% increase in bilateral trade between Iran and Europe in agriculture
field and food after the JCPOA was another issue the European official
discussed during the visit. Hogan emphasized that, given the 94% growth in
trade between Iran and Europe “we will not allow any country to violate the
JCPOA.”

Europe Will Not Back Down on JCPOA

Hogan emphasized that the European Union will continue to engage with Iran
in its pursuit of progress and will not back down from its stance on JCPOA.
He added: “We are looking forward to implementation of this agreement,
including removal of barriers on the banking and credit lines without which
we would not be able to work. We need to define uniform standards that are
of particular importance in maintaining food security. Considering that we
have 20 EU members in our delegation, we can remove the tariff barriers as
soon as possible, which will result in transparency and stability of the
law.”

At the meeting, talks were held on export of pistachios, ostriches, trout,
dairy products, and livestock products as well as the export of genuine
Iranian horses to Europe. Hogan said, “We have received Iran’s demand for
plant seed imports, but we ask Iran to inform us about the extent to which
the parliament could agree to Tehran’s membership in the International Union
for Protection of New Varieties of Plants (UPOV) membership

Iran A Good Consumer Market for European Union

Meanwhile, the EU commissioner, speaking at a meeting of EU high-level trade
delegation and economic activists, reiterated that Iran, with a population
of 80 million, was a good consumer market for the European Union. Pointing
out that Iran is taking serious steps to improve its food industry, Hogan
said, creating routes for joint cooperation in the food industry requires
Iranian companies to recognize the needs of their customers and process high
quality products. There also good work has been done to create food chains,
according to the European official, while the EU has the most stringent
standards for controlling food industry.

Jahangiri: Iran, A Very Reliable Partner

Hogan also met with First Vice President Eshaq Jahangiri. In the meeting,
Jahangiri described Iran as a very reliable partner for the European Union,
and insisted that the EU should open a special account for cooperation with
Iran. The VP said that before the sanctions were imposed, the EU was number
one trade partner of Iran, and even certain EU members alone ranked first
and second, but with the imposition of the sanctions, trade and economic
cooperation with Iran fell sharply, nevertheless, Iran’s economy continued
to grow. Jahangiri pointed to areas of cooperation in different sectors and
the abundant capacities to develop relations in the fields of energy,
industry, agriculture and services, and noted that with such potentials, it
is possible to define joint projects worth tens of billions of dollars. The
important thing for the parties is to have a strong resolve for
implementation of the agreements so that they would not remain just on
paper.

Noting that Iran-EU banking cooperation did not meet the expectations,
Jahangiri said Iran is keen to deepen its economic cooperation with the
European Union and welcomes joint investment not only for the Iranian market
but also for the regional markets. According to Jahangiri, Iran has vast
potentials in the agricultural, livestock, processing and fishery sectors to
cooperate with the European Union. The Iranian government supports the talks
and agreements between the commissioner for Agricultural and Rural
Development of the European Union and minister of agriculture jihad.

Jahangiri emphasized that Iran is keen to deepen its economic cooperation
with the EU, not only for the Iranian market, but also for the European
Union, according to the statement that the banking cooperation between Iran
and EU member states was not expected. Regional markets welcome.

The EU commissioner said: “We are trying to say to the people of Europe and
Iran that the JCPOA is a win-win agreement so is Iran-EU expanding
relationship after the Iran Nuclear Deal.”

Pointing out that the EU High Representative Mogherini had asked him to
ensure that the European Union will remain on the side of JCPOA, Hogan
stated: “Ms. Mogherini has made it clear to the European Union that the EU
will remain committed to JCPOA, and will try to convince its opponents to
reconsider their stance.”

On the idea of opening an EU office in Tehran, Hogan said: “The European
Union wants to have an office in Tehran in order to follow up the provisions
of joint agreements more efficiently and more quickly.”